When Lamborghini raced in F1 - Formula 1
Adventure Lamborghini in F1 it was short and full of failures, unlike what sworn rivals did Ferrari... About twenty years ago, Casa di Sant'Agata tried to try her hand at the circus, but failed to achieve significant results. Let's find out its history together.
It all starts with the engines
La Lamborghini Engineering was born in 1988 to build 3.5 V12 engine intended for the English team Lola, disappointed with the Ford Cosworth engines. At the helm of the team are two big players from the world of motorsport: the engineer. Mauro Forgieri e Daniele Odetto, both occupy leading positions on Ferrari in the seventies.
In the debut season (1989) the car LC89 led by the French Philip Alliot manages to take an interesting sixth place at the Spanish Grand Prix. Convincing proof that such a prestigious team as Lotus contact the Emilian brand for engine supplies.
In 1990 Lola The World Constructors Championship finished in sixth place (thanks also to an amazing third place Aguri Suzuki in the Japanese Grand Prix, the first podium for a Rising Sun driver), while Lotus is going through a disappointing year (8th place in the World Championship), but only partially, from the fifth place in Derek Warwick In Hungary.
Debut as a producer
That same year, Mexican billionaire Fernando Gonzalez Luna placeholder image he contacts Lamborghini Engineering to build a full-fledged single-seater that will race in 1991, but when the car is ready, the Central American businessman disappeared into thin air. Despite economic problems, the car 291 enrolled in World Championship led by Nicola Larini and from Belgium Eric Van de Poel.
Larini's seventh place in his debut US Grand Prix is misleading to fans and pros alike, but the rest of the season turns out to be somewhat disappointing with a lack of points in the standings, clearly inferior performance to rival machines and numerous reliability problems. The other team is also equipped with motors. Lamborghini, LigierNo better: zero points and two seventh places for the Belgian. Thierry Butsen in San Marino and Monte Carlo.
Back to the engines
After a disappointing builder experience Lamborghini returned in 1992 to focus exclusively on engines designed for Minardi и Venturi... Both teams manage to score a point (respectively, with the Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi in Japan and with French Bertrand Gashot in Monte Carlo), but if for the French team we can talk about a positive season (and also the only one) for Faenza, the introduction of new engines represents a step back from the previous year.
Last year Lamborghini in F1 this is 1993: the V12 engine allows the newcomer of the French team Larousse to get three important points, two of which he won Philip Alliot on the occasion of the fifth place in San Marino.
